There is a frantic effort amongst many evangelical churches today to jump on a band wagon; a way ahead that will enhance their attendance figures. Attendance figures are all imortant aren't they? The church is in decline in many evangelical denominations and to reverse this process the call for 'unity' is ringing out from pulpit's all over the UK. I'm not talking about ecumenicism, where Christians prayerfully with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindu's etc. No, that would be a step too far, even though it is happening in some branches of the church. What I am talking about is the traditional Churches and modern Protestant Churches joining hands with the Roman Catholic Church.
Unity is generally a great thing and most Christians would agree that the denominational differences between, for example, the Church of Scotland and the Baptists is minimal and can easily be sidelined for the sake of unity. Or the Nazarene's could worship quite happily with the Free Kirk or Brethren. Why is this possible? Well it's possible because they have core beliefs which are the same, ie, Jesus is Lord, Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, etc. With these basic pillars of truth in place we can build the kingdom together and work in 'unity'. Hooray. We can ignore baptism issues, certain non-core doctrinal issues - as long as the fundamentals are in place, everyone can be fairly happy.
Something Wrong
Where the 'Band Wagon's' wheel's fall off is when that unity, a unity that can only be found in Jesus Christ, begins to include the Roman Catholic churches.
You see, Christians and Catholics are fundamentally opposed in doctrine and practice and their core-beliefs.
Here are a few of the sticking points.
Christians exalt Jesus Christ as Lord and approach God in prayer in Jesus name. Only through Jesus can we approach God. And rightly so. Here is a few Scriptures to ponder.
Matthew 4:10
Then Jesus said to
him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE
LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'"John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me."
Roman Catholics have a fundamentally different approach to God.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners, now and at the
hour of our death.
Amen.
it can explain this better than I can
Q. 1.
Why do Catholics pray to Mary?
A. 1.
A saying that is well known among Catholics
is, "To Jesus, through
Mary." This does not mean, "To Mary,
through Jesus." Nor does it
mean, "To Jesus and to Mary." This saying affirms
that Catholics do not pray
"to" Mary as an equal to God. They pray
"through" Mary as an
intercessor who prays to God on behalf of mankind.If Catholics
were to pray to Mary,
this would imply that they are worshiping her as a
god. But Catholics do not perceive Mary as a god. They perceive her as the
greatest of all the saints that ever lived.
Did you know that Jesus already dealt this type of praying to or through Mary a death blow and yet the church ignores His statement?
Here it is. The scenario is; Jesus has been ministering and preaching, and a woman gets a bit carried away and shouts out,
“"Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." ( Luke 11:27)
“"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."” (V28)
Jesus says “rather” or 'on the contrary' which means He is saying NO to this kind of adoration.
Christian Prayers
Christians pray to God through Jesus. We should know that Jesus and God are one in the same that is why it is 'normal' and 'safe' to pray to Jesus or to God through Jesus. Jesus did say we should approach God through Him so that is what we should do.
The Catholic Prayers, by praying through Mary are equaling her to Jesus.
So, in short, the Catholics pray through Mary and that is blasphemy.
Back to Churches Together
So, if you are a Christian and think that unity with the Roman Church is valid, then you are deceived.
2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for
what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has
light with darkness?
You are linking arms with those who do not worship the same God that you do.
The Queen of Heaven
Catholic teaching on this subject is expressed in the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, issued by Pope Pius XII.
So now you know the Catholics call Mary the Queen of Heaven
Jeremiah 7:18
The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire,
and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven.
They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger.
Please get out and repent.
Isis was venerated first in Egypt, then in the entire Eastern Mediterranean and in Italy. There was an Isis temple in Rome in the first century before Christ.The Roman writer, Apuleius, in his Transformations of Lucius in the first century B.C, gives an understanding of Isis as the Queen of Heaven .
Please note, the image shows a female 'deity' nursing a small child.
Veneration of a "Queen of Heaven", in Hebrew Meleketh haShamayim is recorded in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, circa 628 BC, in the context of the Prophet condemning such religious worship as blasphemy and a violation of the teachings of the God of Israel. In Jeremiah 7:18: "The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger."
In Jeremiah 44:15-18: "Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, "We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine."
___________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment